Zutara Week 2011
by Zutarain123
Summary: All the goodness I am writing for Zutara week.
1. Day 1: Mask

Day 1: Mask

Title: A Break For Royalty

Zuko was exhausted after a long day of work. A long week of constant working. Luckily, there was a Fire Nation festival for the defeat of Ozai and Sozin's comet. There was no work in honor of those who fought. Zuko thought he could get out then, but later he learned that he was to be with suitors at the festival.

He didn't like the idea. It would just be useless, time wasting, and boring. Zuko was already in love with a certain Water Tribe Princess, but since she wasn't Fire Nation, they couldn't marry. Iroh was insisting he marry, so much that he even got a match maker to interview Zuko and suggest ladies.

"The Fire Nation needs a Fire Lady, Zuko! We are going to find one!" Uncle was always saying. Another reason the dating would be useless; all the girls just want to be Fire Lady. For the fame, the fortune, the jewels, power, just not for the Fire Lord. He just wasn't likeable enough because of his scar.

* * *

><p>Katara was traveling to the Fire Nation to visit and see the festival. She could see the outline of it on the horizon, and wondered what she was going to do. It was hard for her to get the clearance to go over, let alone by herself. Her father was so insistent on he marrying, she'd been living in the Northern Water Tribe for 2 months now, trying to find suitors. The on;y one she couldn't have, The Fire Lord, would ever be the right one.<p>

She had quickly fallen into a great depression, that not even Sokka could bring her out of. That's probably the reason why she was able to leave, so she could see Zuko and be happier. Katara had doubted that it would. In their frequent letters to each other, Zuko would sometimes comment about how many suitors he had seen that day or how one acted. It depressed her when he complimented one, but the letters were basically the only things that were keeping her from falling into pieces and not coming back together.

As the main island became more than a dot vision, she wondered if Zuko had missed her as much as she missed him.

* * *

><p>Katara had arrived at Zuko's house, and all Zuko wanted to do was hug her and never let her go. But, he had to use self-control. He had a meeting with a suitor almost directly after welcoming her into his 'humble abode.' All he had time to do was say hi and shake her had before being whisked off.<p>

* * *

><p>Katara was in shock when Iroh told Zuko about his 'appointment', so then she was left alone. Luckily, she knew where her room was and where all the interesting things in the palace were, so she was good.<p>

She started thinking about the festival when Iroh knocked on her door. He informed her that he found a nice, young man that would love to accompany her to the festival while Zuko was with his suitors. The young man would be here tomorrow at 6 to pick her up. Also, she needed to visit the dressmaker in the palace's library so she may be fitted for a dress and mask that she would be wearing tomorrow. Then he left, leaving her breathless and a little annoyed to have been told what to do.

* * *

><p>Zuko was pissed off by the time that he got back to his room. His mood got worse when he was told that he couldn't go talk to Katara because she was getting fitted into a dress that she would wear tomorrow at the festival. Then his tailor came in, telling him that he needs to get his costume ready for the festival.<p>

Once Zuko was out of his monkey suit and was alone in his room, he started thinking about how he was going to get out of his monkey suit and get rid of his dates. Pacing the floor, he heard someone in the hall. He threw himself into his closet, not wanting to be spoken to at the time. There, he landed on a pile of black clothes with a hard thing at the bottom. Lifting himself off the clothes and moving them, he found the offending item. He smiled, a plan running through his mind that would solve most of his problems.

* * *

><p>After being shoved into dress after dress, many with corsets, Katara was more than happy to put on her pajamas. The costume she was to wear was a dark red, strapless dress that barely went past her knees with a black mask. She hated it. Not that it wasn't pretty or because it was red and black, she hated because she thought of what she would be doing in it. Well, what she wouldn't be doing in it. She wouldn't be with Zuko, be having a nice time, or even being happy.<p>

Katara took a shower to wash away all the filth from traveling and the day. She dug around in her her trunk to find her comfy pajamas that she packed. Instead, she found something that would brighten her entire day, the next day.

* * *

><p>Iroh got Zuko up at the ungodly hour of 7. Even though he was a firebender and was supposed to rise with the sun, today he said. "Screw the sun, I'm not getting up!" and hid underneath his covers until Uncle came. He needed to get ready because he had 5 dates after breakfast, 7 after lunch, then he needed to be ready in his costume at 6 to take the "lucky girl" out to the festival. Zuko would then return whenever he wanted to. He agreed to most of the schedule, just not the monkey suitdate part. There is where his own plan came in.

* * *

><p>Katara didn't do particularly anything that day. She stayed in the library the entire time, except to go to eat. The seamstress told her that she needed her in the library at 5:30 to get her dress on, but Katara left at 5, to do her plan.<p>

Back in her room, her Painted Lady outfit was lying on the bed, along with the make-up. She had kept the outfit for fun, but now it was an escape device. Quickly, she put the outfit on and was applying all of her make-up when she heard the doorbell ring. The clock said it was only 5:42. Her date had come early. As fast as she could, she finished her make-up and jumped out her window. Once she was outside, she heard a knock on her door. There was a pause, then the door opened, and she heard voices. One was Iroh's voice, the other was a voice she had never heard before. 'My date's' she thought. They walked over to the window, talking in low voices.

"I do hope that Katara hasn't run off. I wouldn't your night of fun to be ruined." Iroh said.

"It's fine really," the other voice said. "I'll just go by myself. I can't dance anyway."

Her window was shut and then Katara was on the move.

* * *

><p>Zuko was left to get ready on his own. But instead of getting his monkey suit on, he took out the black clothes he landed on yesterday and his Blue Spirit mask. He slipped into them, threw the monkey suit under his bed, and ran into the servants quarters. They were all at the festival, so no one saw him slink out into the alleyway behind the palace.<p>

Zuko ran out out of the alleyway and walked fearlessly into the crowd. It seemed to envelop him. There was fireworks being shot off in the distance, lights on strings were everywhere, and the square seemed to be bursting with people and activities. He'd only been to one festival before, but it wasn't as grand as this one.

* * *

><p>Katara managed to trail behind a group of girls who seemed to be gossiping, behind their fans, about Zuko. They were saying how scandalous it was that he hadn't married, and rejected almost all of the Fire Nation's lady dignitaries. Soon, they would have to start putting commoners into his suitors.<p>

'Huh,' Katara thought. 'If only Zuko could marry me, then people wouldn't get ridiculous ideas like that.' She had just walked in to the square, and was admiring the general splendor when a mask caught her eye. It was a Blue Spirit mask. The only person in the world that had that mask was Zuko. But didn't he have a date?

* * *

><p>Zuko walked into the square and stopped. His jaw even dropped. Somehow, the square had turned from a place for buying overpriced items into a beautiful spectacle.<p>

He felt as though someone was watching him, so he glanced around. There, the woman in the Pained Lady costume. But why is her skin so dark? 'Katara!' he thought. Zuko started moving in her direction the same time she moved towards him.

* * *

><p>They met in the middle, at the edge of the dance floor. Neither could say anything, they were stunned. Then, Katara spoke up after a couple of moments.<p>

"Don't you have a date with you?" There was a hint of venom in her voice.

"No, I snuck out. I've had enough of those self-centered gits today. Why are you here by yourself?"

"Iroh had a 'nice, young man' picked out to accompany me here, but I felt like going alone, so I wore this and jumped out my window."

"Well, since it's stupid for a girl to be wandering around here without anyone else, may I accompany you tonight?"

"Yes. Yes, you may."

They spent the rest of the evening laughing, talking, dancing, and eating. It was the most fun either of them had had in a long time. As the main fireworks show started, they picked a nice tree to sit under and watch.

Katara was picking at her dress, wanting so bad to tell Zuko her feelings, but not knowing how to put them into words, she couldn't. While unconsciously getting closer to Katara, Zuko was having the exact same problem.

Taking a deep breath, Zuko turned to Katara and said, "Katara, I have something to tell you."

Katara turned, a little startled about ow close they were, and replied, "What, Zuko?"

"I, um, just wanted to say that, uh, you look very pretty tonight." 'Dang!' Zuko thought. 'Wrong thing. I'll try again'

"Thank you, Zuko. You don't look too bad yourself."

"Katara there's something else. I want to tell you," he took a deep breath, "I really like you. A lot. Will you go out with me?"

There was a slight pause. "OMG OF COURSE!" Katara exclaimed and squealed.

Zuko grabbed Katara to stop her from bouncing, but ended up knocking them over because he was laughing too hard. Katara lifted up his mask enough that his lips were showing. Then she kissed him.


	2. Day 2: History

Day 2: History

Title: A Day in History

It's History Day in the Fire Nation, and Uncle is insisting that I take part in the fun and dress up. Normally, I wouldn't hesitate to say no, but the gAang is here, so I don't know. I'm pretty sure that Uncle asked them already, so I'm the only holdout. I guess I'll go, but only for a small time.

Back in my room, I'm digging through my closet to find something to wear. I can throw something together to look like... Bumi? No, Toph's Bumi. I could be Avatar Roku and wear my dress robes.. Nah, too hot. Uncle will disapprove too. Right about the time I'm about to give up, I stumble upon a small chest. Vaguely remembering what's inside, I open it to find my Blue Spirit mask and the black clothes that go along with it. That could work as a nice costume. The Blue Spirit is a very important Spirit in The Earth Kingdom.

The story of the Blue Spirit is quite funny actually. The Blue Spirit is the guardian of all thieves and robbers. Thus, the Blue Spirit himself is a thief. Also, he fell in love with the Painted Lady, a river Spirit.

I walk out into the festival lights with Toph and Aang. Toph has the best Bumi costume ever. It even has all the armpit hair. Aang is just wearing formal robes, just being an Air Nation. Momo really helps him pull it off, with being on his shoulder all the time. Katara and Sokka are staying back to get Sokka's costume ready. He's dressed up as a Kyoshi Warrior. Katara had been with Suki enough to know how to put the war paint on. Sokka snuck an outfit with him when he packed. (They knew about this ahead of time, apparently.) Suki didn't come because she had to do something with her warriors.

My group dives into the crowd to enjoy the festivities. Soon, we got separated and I am all alone. Walking along, I take in the sight of all the vendors, games, lights, and decorations. Everything is so bright and cheery, despite the war we have just barely fought.

Suddenly, I heard a voice over an intercom. It's saying that they are going to bring up historic couples. Then, they pull out a huge spotlight. The poor people that the spotlight lands on have to go up on the stage.

They start with Tui and La. More couples go up. I think Sokka ended up on the stage by the time they call the Painted Lady. The spotlight lands on me. The Painted Lady and the Blue Spirit are supposedly a match made in the Spirit World. I try to ignore the light, but the people around me are cheering and pushing me towards the stage. I reluctantly go up on the stage, the last one.

There I am, on the stage, when I get a closer look at the Painted Lady. I recognize the body and hair of her, but I can't make a face quite yet. Her head is ducked, so all I can see is her hat, no facial features.

They make us do this weird thing. We had to find items throughout the festival. Kind of like a scavenger hunt, but we are tied to each other like a three-legged race type thing. Very strange, if you ask me. We all have 5 minutes to find 4 things that are the colors of the four nations. That doesn't seem so bad until you see the items. A blue comb, most likely supposed to be Tui's or La's. A red necktie, saying how the Fire Nation has been so business since.. forever. An orange, stating the fact the the Air Nomads eat fruit and not meat. A green tooth. That one boggles my mind. It could be that the people of the Earth Kingdom just grits their teeth and go on in life.

With the Painted Lady tied to me, we set out to find the various, strange items. The green tooth is actually the first thing we find. A gentleman lets us borrow his red necktie and the orange he was eaten. A couple bite marks, that's all. Time is running out when the Painted Lady pulls out a blue comb from her pocket.

We rush to the stage and are the first ones there. Presenting the items to the person with the mike, who has to dramatically look at the items in his hand to the list that he probably had memorized 5 million years ago. Declaring us the winners, we have to wait for all the other contestants.

I stand still, waiting to be untied from the Painted Lady. Sokka walks up to us, looking ridiculous in his Kyoshi Warrior outfit.

"What's up my home dogs?" I honestly have no idea what goes on in his head. If he even has anything between his ears.

"Um, hi Sokka," I say in response. "Did you happen to be partnered with a girl who was dressed up as a guy?"

Sokka blushes. It's hard to tell through the white paint, but you can see it if you squint. "No. It was a guy. He even tried to hit on me. I think he still thinks I am a girl. It's creeping me out, dude."

What is with all the slang? "Well, hoe did you get untied from him? I mean, we're still tied together." I gesture to myself and the girl next to me.

"Oh yeah. We kinda got disqualified when I attempted to run away from him after he started to hit on me again. I got the rope undone and ran, but he chased after me. Then the guy with the mike, I think his name is Zenshiro or something like that, ran after the guy who was running after me while I was running away from the guy who was chasing me. I ended up in an alleyway while Zenshiro tackle-glomped the dude. We ended up here, well at least I did. I can't find the dude anywhere. He just, like, disapparated."

Disapparated? Really? "Well then, can you untie us, please? It would be awkward for one of us to do it without falling."

As Sokka unties us, my eyes scan the mass of people, looking for Toph and Aang, searching for Katara as well. When Sokka stands up, I ask him if he's seen any of the gAang members, that we are missing, recently.

"Well you and Katara are up here, but I haven't seen Aang and Toph since when I first got here and got distracted by a meat cart. I ran into Toph, quite literally."

I look at him, confused, until I get what he means. Katara is on the stage, where Sokka can see her, and he thinks that I know where she is. Slowly, I turn to the girl I was tied to, not 5 minutes ago. Then I remember the comb she pulled out during the hunt. I gave that exact same comb to Katara For her birthday, last month. It all makes sense now. But I hope that neither Sokka nor Katara notices my slip-up. Thank goodness for masks.

Sokka keeps talking, and I steal a glance at Katara's face while I pretend to be listening to Sokka. She seems to have known the entire time, but I can't see her face very well through the veil and hat.

We go back into the crowd after receiving our reward for winning, a coupon to Cabbages 'R' Us. We attempt to look for Aang and Toph, but we are hopelessly lost. Sokka says something about seeing a meat vendor, so he leaves to satisfy his needs for meat.

"So," I say to Katara, "how about that win we had back there, eh?"  
>"It was quite strange, how well we work together, even though we are fire and water. Still, a green tooth?"<br>I laugh at the memory. The other items were a little more practical, but a green tooth?

"It really is weird, now that I think about it more now. A red tie, an orange, a blue comb, all seemingly normal things, but a green tooth? Luckily we found that mask on the ground that had a green tooth, or else we would have totally lost. Then we wouldn't have gotten the lovely coupon to Cabbages 'R' Us! And what a shame that would have been!" I say, way too dramatically. Katara giggles at my attempt at humor.

We walk along in the crowd, not really talking, just commenting here and there, when Katara grabs my arm.

"Look!" she says as she points to the sky. All the stars are out, but I know that's not what she talking about. They've started the fireworks show already. The crowd turns their heads towards the sky to see the delightful sight. In the sky flashes historic names, pictures, places, events, and people. An Avatar here, a Kyoshi Warrior there. But the thing that really makes me breathless is the grand finale. There is a picture of the Blue Spirit and the Painted Lady, kissing. Then a heart appears around them, while words spell out, 'The Blue Spirit and the Painted Lady. Forever Together.'

"I didn't know they were able to do that," Katara said, amazement obvious in her voice as wee watch the final ashes fall to the Earth.

"I don't think they ever done anything like that before. Mostly, it's just random explosions of light. Now they do this. That was just.. Wow."

"I think that they made a good choice ending with the Blue Spirit and the Painted Lady. They are like one of the most historic couples in.. well history." Katara looks as if she is going to continue, but someone abruptly runs into her, pushing her straight into me. As a reflex, I catch her and hold her close to me, not even realizing what I am doing. Instead of pushing me away or standing stiffly in my arms like I thought she would, she actually melts into my arms.

I'm frozen, but I relax. She tilts her head up, and I meet her eyes. They are filled with some sort of desire. She reaches up slowly, towards my mask. My mask is pushed up just enough so my lips show, but I can no longer see. I feel tentative lips on mine.

Shyly, she backs away and rights my mask. I rip it off and put us in the position that was in the sky moments ago. Horrid timing.

Sokka comes back just as our lips meet the second time, and he spits out all the meat in his mouth, which is a lot. He almost chokes on it. He rushes at us, in an attempt to, I think, tear us apart, but he lands on his face. I hear a cackling that can only come from Toph.

I pull back from Katara to see Sokka on the ground, earth bended slightly, so he can't get up, while Aang is in a metal box that Toph, no doubt, metal bended. Toph is still cackling when I pull Katara to me again.


	3. Day 3: Social Networking

Day 3: Social Networking

Title: Messages (1)

I checked the Facebook on my phone, and I saw that I had gotten a message. It was from Zuko, my boyfriend. He lives the in the Fire Nation whilst I am stuck in the Southern Water Tribe. The message just said hi and that he loves me.

Quickly, I responded and put my phone away. If my father found out that I wasn't paying any attention to his lecture about meat conservation. Sokka was staring at our dad in complete and total disbelief. You'd think I was the older of us two with the way Sokka whining about meat. I started to drift off when my dad started talking about weapons and warriors and manly stuff like that.

I thought about Zuko. I hadn't seen him in such a long time. 4 months now? It doesn't seem long, but when it takes 2 days to travel to each place by plane, it's really long. The last time we saw each other was when we went and saw an Ember Island Players show, which hasn't gotten any better or worse since we saw "The Orange Grapefruit." (Which sucked so bad, we left during the intermission.) Then he took me out to Uncle's tea shop for dinner. We walked around the park for quite some time. Then we just gazed at the stars. It seemed as if all time had just stopped and frozen us right there. That would have been so nice if it did.

Zuko has only been to the Water Tribe twice. I can't count how many times I've been to the Fire Nation. He can't stand the almost year round winter, while the heat always feels good on my skin. It's not that I don't enjoy going to visit him, it's just because he's the heir to the throne and always has an excuse why he can't come. It starts to annoy me after a while. I mean, I'm slightly royalty. With my dad being the the chief, people call me the Princess of the Southern Water Tribe. Not to mention, I am the last waterbender from here. Not that people haven't moved here from the Northern Tribe, but I am the last waterbender from the Southern Water Tribe.

Dad concluded the lecture when Sokka burst into tears. He had called the boomerang a weapon that shouldn't be used in wars. Sokka was very protective of his boomerang. It was his only possession that he ever talked to. Sometimes, he even slept with it. To hear the it wasn't a reasonable choice in war must have killed him a little. Even if he has Suki, he loves that boomerang more than anything in the world. You should see the way he eyes that thing.

I walked into my room and turned on my computer. Opening the internet, I started to pump my music out my speakers and lost myself into the world of the internet and My Chemical Romance.

Through the chorus of 'Planetary (Go!)', I heard a pounding at my door. I turned down my music so it only slightly rattled the glass on my desk. Pushing to the door to yell at Sokka for interrupting me whilst I was on my computer, I came face-to-face with Zuko.

"Zuko!" I squealed as I threw myself into his arms. "What are you doing here?"

"Can't I just come and pop up whenever I want, or is that officially illegal?" He smirked, teasing me like normal.

"Well at least a little bit of a warning before you randomly decide to invade my humble abode would be nice."

"Aw, your dad knew. But I told him not to tell you. I wanted it to be a surprise. And you should turn that song back up because you know My Chemical Romance is my favorite band," he said as he gently nudged me in the direction of my computer, so I could turn it up. That's another thing I loved about him, we share a favorite band. And a song, too.

The rest of the day was spent chilling in my room, laid back on my bed, listening to My Chemical Romance, and talking. Oh, how we talked. We talked about what I've been doing, he he's been doing, and things we have had to do for our nations. Basically just a big complaining match. We each try to out do each other on the stuff we've been forced to do. Usually, Zuko wins those fights, but I won that one. He couldn't top off my attempting to calm Sokka down after he'd lost his boomerang for the 12th time that day. (Not kidding there at all.)

He slept in the guest room, while I tried to contain myself. I really wanted to go in and tackle-glomp him to death. But, I managed to hold my self back and go to sleep. You know that whole saying, 'Waterbenders rise with the moon and Firebenders rise with the sun'? That is so true. I had to fall asleep while the sun was still up so that I could get some sleep. But Zuko couldn't think like that. He got me up at the ungodly hour of dawn. Seriously, not even the old people were up yet.

We spent the next couple of days like that. Just talking, wandering around aimlessly, and annoying Sokka as much as we possibly could. It was mostly about the meat thing, because we found that hilarious. I mean, he was being way too overly dramatic about it.

Zuko took me walking along the beach on one day, around sunset. It was beautiful, really. All the purple hues, the blues, and reds just made the sky look amazing. The water dancing beneath it made it all the more perfect. It almost seemed as though Zuko had brought me here from a special reason and he's thought that I would enjoy it here. Suddenly, Zuko stopped, so I turned to face him.

"Katara, I have something that I need to tell you. I love you, I can't live without you. You are the yin to my yang, the love of my life, the other side of my heart. Katara Huang Kyoto, will you marry me?" He got down on one knee, and pulled out a little black box. Inside was a sliver ring with a diamond surrounded by little blue sapphires.

"Yes," I said, chuckling slightly. "A thousand times, yes."

* * *

><p>I hurriedly and nervously smoothed down the front of my dress again as Suki and Ty Lee fix my veil and hair.<p>

"Oh Katara! Stop worrying! You look fine! And it's not as if Zuko will walk out on you! He loves you." Suki said as she to make my hair loopies look nice. She ended up taking them out.

My dress really was beautiful. It wasn't white, like normal wedding dresses, but a pale blue. It could have been mistaken for white, though. The skirt fell into a wide circle around my feet. It was big enough that I had a little trouble walking through halls, but when I got on the aisle, it wouldn't look that huge. The front had really nothing on it, just some glitter. The entire dress had little symbols on it. They were a combination of the Water Tribe's and Fire Nation's symbols. I was so glad the corset that held it up didn't have to be tied incredibly tight.

Suki and Ty Lee went to go put their dresses on when my dad came and got me. We stood up on a balcony above all the wedding guests, where no one could see us, but we could see them. We stayed up there until they needed us, talking. But before that happened, I saw Zuko. He looked so handsome, standing in a tuxedo. His eyes darted around, as if he were looking for something, but never landing on anything long enough to say he had found it.

Soon, I was walking down the aisle. The only two bridesmaids I had were Suki and Ty Lee, who were also my maids-of-honor. Suki was being escorted by Sokka, while Ty Lee was led by Jet. My father tensed up as everyone looked at us, but I didn't notice them. I was looking at Zuko the entire time.

The priest declared us man and wife. The first thing that ran through my head as Zuko pulled me into a kiss was, 'And to think it all started off with a Facebook friend request.'


	4. Day 4: Secret

Day 4: Secret

Title: A Secret Unto Death

"I stood next to Toph and Aang while Suki knelt near Katara's limp body. Zuko and Katara had been caught after they defeated Azula by 20 Fire Nation soldiers. The only was we knew that information was because Zuko told us as much as he could before he went unconscious. He had a big scar on his back that looked like it was from lightning.

"Sokka, come here! Katara's trying to say something!" Suki said. I rushed over to Katara's side. She was mumbling under her breath, and I only caught every other word. Finally, I heard her say,"I have a secret." Then she stopped breathing.

"Sh-She just died." I said. Toph took a sharp intake of breath, while Aang fell to his knees. Suki stepped over to Zuko to check on him.

"He's gone too. Well, at least they'll have each other in the Spirit World," Suki said solemnly. Toph had joined Aang on the ground, but she was comforting him instead of crying with him. Suki came over to me and I let her cry into my shoulder. It was hard to believe that both of them were gone. We would never see Katara or Zuko bend again. We'd never hear them fight. We'd never see or taste Katara's cooking again. It was hard to comprehend.

When my father heard the news about Katara, he completely broke down. Likewise, Uncle did the same thing with Zuko. But they were still able to pull themselves together enough to plan the funerals, even through all the pain. I thought it made it easier for them because they've already planned them before. It almost seemed to ease the pain of the losses a little.

Zuko's funeral was a week after the final battle. All the preparations seemed rushed, but in the end, the were perfect. Iroh has his funeral pyre made completely out of Zuko's favorite wood, oak. The only place where they could get it from was the Earth Kingdom. But because Toph had connections (and scary Earthbending skills) they got all of it in a day. The casket, under the funeral pyre, was made out of black marble. His funeral robes were complete white, Egyptian silk. Mai disappeared almost immediately after she learned that they weren't going to burn the funeral pyre. Instead, Iroh wanted him to be buried next to Katara in the Southern Water Tribe. The funeral pyre was then given a beautiful polish that made it gleam. Iroh thought it was perfect.

The funeral was held in the palace in the main hall. There were two funerals, one for the public, and one for friends and family. The family's was the day after the public one. People came in and spoke, they had a band come in and played Zuko's favorite song while a choir sang to it. It was beautiful, really. Zuko wasn't buried until Katara was. We wanted them to be buried at the same time. We just put the marble lid on his marble casket, and left him in the hall. People came the for the next week to pay their respects to him and his friends an family.

For the first four days, there was a never ending line of people in white. The last three days weren't so bad, but, by the time that they had all left, and we were getting ready to leave for Katara's funeral in the Southern Water Tribe, all of the flowers and gifts in the hall were on every possible surface. We had to clear pathways to even breathe in that room. When we put the flowers on the boat we were taking to the Southern Water Tribe, we just ended up riding Appa there because all the flowers took up all the space. Zuko's casket went on it's own special boat.

Katara's funeral was more personal. There was no big groups of people o having the entire population of a country coming. It was just Aang, Toph, Suki, Uncle, Gran-Gran, Pakku, my dad, Appa, Momo, and myself. We ended up doing hers in a little church that we had for weddings and funerals. Sometimes, she would walk around there to think and look at the little church. It only seemed fitting to her have her funeral in her favorite place. Well, her second favorite, her first being Zuko's palace's gardens.

Her casket was almost the complete opposite of Zuko's. It still was marble, but it was a brilliant white. The brightest, whitest, shiniest marble you would have ever seen. Inside, she was wearing a black dress, the Southern Water Tribe's color of mourning. She always had wanted to wear a black dress. To a funeral, a date, a party. But who would have guessed that she would be wearing a black dress at her funeral when she was 17. Her friends and family all gathered around in the pews. They all stared silently as the rest of the guests arrived. As the rest of the people who knew Katara and had had her make an impact on their lives. All except our dear friend Zuko. Because they died on the same day, at nearly the same time, neither could be at the others funeral. But, my friends, we are here to celebrate the life of Katara."

That is the speech I said at Katara's funeral. A few people are crying because of it, but we knew it's all true. We were all there for Zuko's funeral, for the preparations of both funerals, and now for Katara's. I sot back down in my seat next to Suki as my dad goes up to talk. He talks about how good she was and how it was like when she grew up. Gran-Gran talks about when she took care of me and Katara after our dad went to war. Aang talks about when Katara basically saved his life. Toph just says about how fun it was they day they went to the spa together and actually got to talk about real stuff. Momo and Appa can't talk, but Suki said enough for all of them.

Finally, Katara's casket was loaded into a carriage. That carriage and the one that holds Zuko's will be going to the cemetery side-by-side. The rest of us ride on Appa's back as he walks behind them.

It seems like the entire four nations showed up. There are people lined up on the streets, on the rooftops, and they are all there to mourn the fallen. Every so often, I recognize a face. No waves or anything big. Just a nod to know that we acknowledge their presence.

When we get to the cemetery, there are more people there. We walk to the grave site, and at least I look in awe at their headstones. Both of them are polished marble, each coordinated to the color of the casket, but they aren't normal headstones. Both stick out of the ground. Katara's is in the shape of the Southern Water Tribe's symbol, while Zuko's is the Fire Nation's symbol. Each headstone has half of a yin and yang sign, and they are close enough that the two pieces make a perfect sign. The yin and yang represent the way that, even though they were opposite in almost all ways, they worked together perfectly.

We watch as they are lowered into the ground. The last thing I think of as I walk back to Appa is, 'It's a shame that they couldn't and won't be able to see all the effort made into making this thing beautiful."

But that's where Sokka is wrong. We were there, the entire time. After Zuko and I died, our spirits stayed on Earth. We saw all the preparations, all the work and love that was put into it. Everything, we saw it. The part I loved was Sokka's speech. I really did have a secret, and I still do. I'm going to tell it to you.

Zuko and I are in love. Now that our funerals are over, we are going up to the Spirit World to await our friends and family.


	5. Day 5: Awkward

Day 5: Awkward

Title: The Mysterious Meow

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><p>Katara was taking the clothes that needed to be washed to the river that was closest the the Western Air Temple, when she thought she saw something moving in the trees. Curious, she moved to see if it was food that she could easily. No need to kill a mountain lion if that meant that she had to get the clothes in her basket dirtier than they were before. But instead of finding a rabbit or something, she found Toph and Aang totally eating face. They pulled away when they noticed her. An awkward silence consumed them, and Katara swore she heard a 'meow', but it seemed to weird to be true.<p>

"Um, this is a little awkward. So, uh, Katara, we're just going to, um, leave now. 'Kay, thanks, bye," Toph said as she grabbed Aang's hand and pulled him deeper into the woods.

Katara shrugged it off and went to the river. She bent some water into a little pool that Toph had made for her to make sure that their clothes don't get swept away. They ran out of soap last week, so Katara had to scrub really hard. It usually took her three hours to finally finish it, but it would go a lot faster if she had warm water. But that either meant hauling water from a fountain into a huge pot of water that she was going to have to keep on the fire in order for it to stay warm, or have Zuko help her. If Zuko helped her, he was going to have to raise the water's temperature by going into the water. Which would imply that he has no clothes which would imply... Yeah, you get it.

Katara was walking back from the river to the temple, when she thought she heard something in the trees again. She thought about what scene that she saw earlier, and readied a speech for them, when she saw not Toph and Aang, but Suki and Sokka in the same situation that she had found Toph and Aang. Again, she thought that she heard a 'meow' in the awkward silence that occurred.

"Um, Katara! Fancy seeing you here! We were just, going to find, pine needles, for, dinner yeah! Dinner tonight. Because we wanted to add some, flavor to it. Even thought it already tastes delicious. So, we are just going to go do that now..."

They ran off, leaving Katara alone she sighed and walked back to the temple to deliver the fresh, clean clothing to its' rightful owners, who hopefully won't be in compromising positions like earlier.

Zuko was just taking a leisurely walk around the edge of the woods, when he saw a leg. Thinking that finding a random floating limb would really be weird, he walked over to investigate. Instead of finding a magical leg, he found Sokka and Suki, on the ground, eating face.

"Ah!" Zuko said as he jumped away from the horrible sight in front of him. The couple on the ground quickly stood up and parted.

An awkward silence came upon them as they righted their clothes. Then Zuko thought that he heard a 'meow' in the distance, but totally applying to the situation that they were in at the time.

"Hey Zuko! Wow, this is really awkward. Being caught and stuff. But we were just looking for some fresh ham in the woods. And now that we didn't find any, we are just going to go, swim in the trees over there. Then once we are done, we are going to go get some broccoli and make a snack." Sokka said, shifting nervously.

"Um, okay. You guys have fun... swimming and eating the broccoli that we don't have and that you guys hate so much." Zuko said as Sokka and Suki ran off into the trees. The trees that were near the pathway to get to the river. Where Katara had just been walking.

Zuko started to walk around the edge again. After about two hours, he found a floating arm. Swearing that he saw Sokka ad Suki go deeper into the woods, he marched over there to confront them. He prepared to see a really bad sight, but he was met with the sight of Toph and Aang in the position that Sokka and Suki were in, two hours ago. Once again, he cringed and watched them stand up and fix their rumpled clothing.

"Don't explain anything to me. I know what you were doing, so just go back to the temple and find a private place to finish that up so you don't scar the rest of us." Zuko said through clenched teeth. He watched them scurry to the temple and thought back to during the awkward silence. He heard another 'meow'. They seemed to appear during silences, but not right now as he was thinking. So what was it that set it off?

Zuko walked back to where he had started, and saw Katara retreating form. Jogging to catch up, he started to walk back with her. They talked and ended up splitting the load of laundry. Katara took the girls' clothes, while Zuko had the boys'. During their conversation, the told the other about the disturbing sights in the woods, but never said anything about the meows. They split up to deliver the clothes and do various other chores.

Katara decided to go to Toph's room first because she had the most laundry and wanted to get it all out of the pile. But instead of finding an empty room or a Toph in her room, she was a Toph and Aang making out on Toph's bed. Instead of making a big show about it, she just sighed and waited for them to part. When they finally parted, Katara swore that she heard a meow in the awkward silence again. She was really going to have to look into that once her chores were done and dinner was made.

"Toph, Aang, seriously? Do you have to be making out in every possible room and places that I happen to go in? Are you like stalking me or something?" They nodded, clearly not paying attention because they just said that they were stalking her, and ran out of the room. She sighed.

Dropping Toph's clothes on her bed, she made her way to Suki's room. Once again, she found a very awkward situation. She swore under her breath as Suki and Sokka stood up. There was a 'meow' in the pause. She really was going to have to investigate that soon. She sighed. So much to do, so little time. And still, dinner had to be made. Katara let them go, and just dropped Suki's clothes on the floor as a small revenge on her.

Zuko went to Sokka's room first, because Sokka had the most pairs of pants in the entire world. Even when Zuko was living in the palace, he never had that many pairs of pants. Once in Sokka's room, he saw Suki and Sokka on the bed, almost literally eating face. He just sighed and ran a hand through his hair as the two sat up together.

"Will you guys ever stop forward stalking me and making out in front of me? You could have had the decency to at least lock the door. Or even shut it, for Agni's sake! Do you know how lucky you are that you were caught by me and not Katara? Just go, run off, and STOP FORWARD STALKING ME!" They ran out, leaving Zuko alone. Before he had talked, there was a definite 'meow'. He really needed to know what was making that noise.

Walking into Aang's room, he found the same thing. This time, instead of waiting to be noticed, he just shouted, "Good Lord, people! Can't you do something else with your time?" There was a pause, and then a 'meow'. Where was that coming from?

"Seriously? Can we not go anywhere to make out anymore? First Katara catches us in the woods, then you do, then she caught us in Toph's room, and you caught us here. Arugh!" Surprisingly, it was Aang who said that. He dragged Toph out of his room and ran somewhere. Zuko threw Aang's clothes in various places around the room, as a small pay back for what he had seen twice now.

He was going to find out where that 'meow' was coming from. Of course, now he knew that it came from an awkward conversation, but now he had to make one and find the culprit of said meowing.

Zuko met Katara in the hallway to go to their rooms. He saw that she had something on her mind. When he asked her, she said that she didn't want him to think that she was crazy, but then she explained the whole meowing situation. He said that he had heard them too. Zuko had a plan, so he shared it with Katara. They decided to pretend to make out on the couch in the living room and have the other people walk in on them, thus making an awkward silence. When they heard the meow, Zuko and Katara would search the room and block all the exits so the culprit couldn't escape.

They went into the living room and actually started to make out on the couch. When the others came in and heard the meow, Katara froze all the windows and Zuko shut the door and locked it. He put the key in his pocket for safe keeping. Finally, after 5 minutes, a figure stepped out of the shadows.

"You! Are you the one that meows during the awkward silences?" Zuko asked from the doorway to the strange girl.

"Yes, yes I am. My name is Wren, but you really didn't need to know that because none of you will ever remember this! Obliviate!"

* * *

><p>AN: That was for you, Mikaelalala!<p> 


	6. Day 6: Legendary

Day 6: Legendary

Title: The Reincarnated Painted Lady and Blue Spirit.

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><p>There was a legendary love between the Blue Spirit and the Painted Lady. It was said that they were a match made in the Spirit world before they ever went there. When they met in the Spirit World, they were perfectly in unison. Some think of them as the yin and yang of the Spirit World.<p>

In the life before they first went into the Spirit World, The Blue Spirit was named Teothy Gerald Untagun, a poor boy from the Earth Kingdom. He became a beggar at the age of 5, along with his two older brothers, to support his family. But, when that wasn't enough, they took on the dangerous task of stealing. His brothers were no good at it, but he seemed to have a special talent for it. Then, they decided to chance their luck. Teothy would go around stealing needed items as his brothers would beg for money. Their family became healthier, until one of his brother chanced stealing again. He was caught, and executed in the town square. His mother fell into a spiraling depression, his father became a drunk and would beat him and his surviving brother. Whenever he and his brother were alone, his brother would blame everything on Teothy because he couldn't have kept his little mouth from running off about all the adventures that he went on while he was stealing.

The Painted Lady was named Zalikah Amile Faine, born in the Fire Nation island of Jang Hui. It was on the middle of a river. Her parents were fishermen because that was the only way that they could get money in the middle of nowhere. Boats would come every month to get all the extra fish that the village got. While her parents were fishing 18 hours a day, Zalikah would take care of her elderly grandparents and here younger siblings. She learned quite fast how to cook, clean, and keep order in a house. By the time she was 6, she already knew how long it took for a burn on a child's hand to heal. Her grandparents died when she was 11. They were very old, so they deducted that they died of old age. When the fishing business was booming, her parents were out on the lake almost every possible second. They hardly ever slept. Until, one night, her mother fell into the water out of exhaustion. Her father tried to dive in and find her, but they both ended up drowning. She was 16 at the time. The younger kids were 10, so she vowed that everyday, she would guard the waters of the river. At night, she went around healing the sick. Zalikah, for fear of being recognized, wore a costume every time she healed people. It consisted of a hat with a veil, and plenty of body make up. Everyone that she had healed called her The Painted Lady, so the name stuck.

Teothy had to struggle until he finally left his house. His dad and brother ended up dying of starvation, while his mother had died a year after his other brother died. He started to steal, his life depending on it. To protect his identity, he wore a blue mask that had white facial features. People started to recognize him as the Blue Spirit, the Spirit part being because he would slink away in even he was locked in a metal room with no windows. He also protected the other thieves that ran around him. If he saw one of them in a fight, he would help beat up the other person, then slink away with the person's valuable possessions. Teothy became one of the most wanted people in the Earth Kingdom. He died when one of his fights went wrong, and he fought a very mad, drunk, powerful firebender.

No one knows how Zalikah died. One person recalls that he saw her at her station one day, but never saw her there again. The sick people didn't recall ever seeing her that night in the mediocre hospital.

They waited in the Spirit World together, protect their people when they needed to. The Painted Lady became the Spirit Guardian of the river that she lived on when she was mortal. The Blue Spirit always protected any thief that needed protection. They were very loyal to what they did, so they never left their edge of the Spirit World, always there if anyone needed them.

Many people didn't believe the stories about them. Two such people were Hakoda Toro and Ozai Lero. They thought that the stories were for thieves who would think that they were always safe, and people who needed something to believe. Those two didn't need anything to believe in, because they were the highest of the high in their countries. However, that would change when they would learn that one of their children was a reincarnation of one of the two Spirits.

Zuko Lero was born in the Fire Nation Palace, as the Prince of the Fire Nation and Heir to the Throne. He always lived in the lap of luxury, even though he had a thorn in his side called his little sister. His mother loved him very much, and his father always said that Zuko was the pride of his life whenever he saw him. Until the day that he figured out that Azula was better than Zuko. Then Zuko was just his first born who couldn't be as good as his younger sister. But, he always had his mother to comfort him whenever Azula teased him about anything, or did anything to him. That all changed one night when he was 12. His mother came into his room at the dead of night, asking him if he knew that she loved him. He didn't quite understand what was going on, because he was half asleep, but he said the right answer to the questions she asked him. Then she left. Forever. Now he had to fight his own battle himself. When he was 14, he decided that he was old enough to go to war meeting with his father and Uncle. Iroh tried to discourage him, but Zuko stayed strong. Finally, Iroh let him go as long as he kept his mouth shut the entire time and be respectful. Zuko did that, until he thought that what one general was saying was ridiculous, and talked against it. He was forced to go into an Agni Kai to defend himself. But instead of facing the general he had offended, he faced his father. Zuko tried to beg for mercy, but it didn't work. His father banished him and gave him a horrible scar on the left side of his face. Iroh took him in and helped him in his journey to find the Avatar and regain his honor. It wasn't until later that he realized that Zuko was the reincarnation of the Blue Spirit.

Katara Toro was born in the Southern Water Tribe, with an older brother, two loving parents, and a grandmother. When she grew up, her village was invaded by the Fire Nation, looking for the waterbenders in the tribe. They took all of the benders, and her mother. Katara was the last waterbender, but her mother loved her too much to let her go. She died because the man got impatient with her. Katara was the one who found her mother's body. Holding as much of the body as she could, she started to sob. Sokka came in, and left, very very pale. He got their father who was tending to his warriors. When he was told, he ran as fast as he could to their home. He order Katara and Sokka out of the house, and to go to their grandmother. They all lived past the pain, but it affected Katara more than anyone else in the family. She didn't know why, but she kept on thinking about how she could have helped her. But in every plan, it involved waterbending. They all would have failed. Not only would she have gotten captured, but her skills back then weren't the best in the world. One day, she went hunting with Sokka, and they found the Avatar. Katara took him in as if he were a duckling under her wing. She wouldn't let him down, like she let her mother down. It would be a while before she noticed that these feelings for Aang weren't romantic, but protective, just like that of the Painted Lady. Katara was the reincarnated version of the Painted Lady.

Zuko and Katara meet when Zuko first tried to take Aang. His plan was unsuccessful, for he far underestimated them and their powers. When they first fought a major battle together, their bending against each other was beautiful. Just they way that the elements met each other was amazing. But, Zuko finally beat Katara and ran off with Aang. It was hard for Zuko to leave Katara that way she was, but Zuko would never admit to that. He just said that he stared at her to finally comprehend that he had beaten her.

The next time that they really thought something was going on between them was when Zuko asked to join their group. Katara denied it because she said that she couldn't trust him. What she really thought was that he would be a great addition to their group, and how they would work so well together. Those thoughts scared her, so she just pushed them aside. Zuko thought it was strange, but he knew that she was treating him better than before, probably because he had saved Aang's life.

That was another thing. The two were slowly figuring out who they were. When Zuko first picked up the Blue Spirit mask he'd found, he'd felt as if it was his and always his, but he denied it. He blamed his skills of climbing and fighting on all the training he went through when he was younger, but there was so much that he could do that he never learned. It puzzled him always.

Katara had actually been to the place where the Painted Lady had been born and raised. When she heard about the Painted Lady and all she did, Katara felt like she had done all of that stuff before. It was a very weird feeling, but she shrugged it off. She pretended to be the Painted Lady, she felt as if it were only natural what she was doing. With the make up on her, she really did look like a very convincing Painted Lady. There was just one thing that she was missing.

This brings us to the final battle. Zuko and Azula are having an Agni Kai, when Azula doesn't shoot lighting at him, but something behind him. It was Katara. Normally, he would have just told Katara to run, but for some reason, he jumped in front of her and attempted to re-direct the lightning himself. It didn't work as he planned. Katara finished Azula, then she walked over to Zuko. He was unconscious, which was better than if he would have been conscious. She healed him, then he slowly opened his eyes. He'd tried to think of a way to thank her in words, but his body acted before his mind could. He pulled her into a kiss, and then there was light. Light was everywhere. Suddenly they weren't on the ground anymore, but their lips were still connected. Katara felt her clothes change, and a hat being placed on her head. Zuko felt his face changing, as if something were being put on it. They felt their feet gently touch the ground, and they parted.

Zuko had turned into the Blue Spirit, while Katara was the Painted Lady. When their friends rushed around the corner, they were confused. They knew that Katara and Zuko were fighting here, but the only people here were the... It all made sense to Aang. He knew that Katara was something special, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. She was the reincarnation of the Painted Lady. And apparently, Zuko was the Blue Spirit. That's why they worked so well together. They were the yin and yang of the Spirit World.

That was when the legendary love between the Painted Lady and the Blue Spirit became the legendary love between Zuko and Katara.


	7. Day 7: Caught

Day 7: Caught

Title: The Tiger

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><p>When I was wandering around the forests of the Earth Kingdom's border, I heard a small 'mew'. Curious, I walked into the woods and searched for the source of the cute 'mew'. It was quite a while before I found it. The source was a little baby tiger. I froze, knowing very well that if a baby was alone, then the mother of it could be very close. But, I never remembered hearing anything about this kind of tiger being in the Earth Kingdom. Well, I didn't know what kind of tiger it was. It didn't seem like a mixture of anything, just a tiger. Somehow, it got all the way over here by itself.<p>

Wrapping it up in the jacket that Sokka insisted that I take, I ran out of the woods and to the house that the Earth Kingdom have us. Luckily, Sokka was taking a nap, Toph and Aang were in the city, and Zuko was practicing his firebending in the back. I walked in my room, shut the door, and unwrapped the sleeping bundle in my arms. It was an orange tiger that had brown and white stripes. The fur was extremely fluffy. It's paws were pure white, as well as the tips of it's ears.

I started to think what I should do with it. The others would probably tell me to put it back in the woods, so I couldn't tell them. It was just too cute and small to have it live by itself. Looking around my room, I decided that I could house it here until it was a little bigger.

It's little eyelids fluttered, and lazily opened. It just looked at me, closed it's eyes again, and fell back asleep. 'That's it,' I thought as it cuddled closer to me. 'I am keeping this even if I have to steal from Sokka's private stash of meat.' I made it a little bed out of one of my pillows and a small blanket. As it slept peacefully, I thought about naming it.

As I thought of names like 'Fluffy' or 'Cuddle Monster', a name came to me suddenly. 'Kisa.' I'd heard it before, but it seemed to fit with the fluffy animal on my bed. She should have a collar that has her name on it, and so I could take her on walks whenever she got restless. But, that would have to wait. I heard the door open, announcing that Aang and Toph were back, who woke up Sokka, and brought Zuko inside with their noise. I was called to make lunch for all of us. Zuko helped me make lunch, because he really was the only one who could. A couple of times, I caught him staring at me. Whenever I did, he would blush.

As I made and served lunch, all I could think about was Kisa. I made a little extra meat for her, but I didn't serve it, for fear that Sokka would eat it before I could get it to. Instead, I wrapped it up and hit it in my dress. When I had cleaned up all the dishes from lunch, I got a bowl and put some milk in it. When I went to my room and opened my door, little Kisa was there with her brown eyes wide in wonder. Quickly, I stepped in and shut the door so she wouldn't get out. I set the meat and milk on the floor, and watched her eat. Once she was done, she pounced into my lap and stared up at me. Getting the hint, I scrounged up something that I could use for a leash, and tied it around her neck.

We walked around the edges of the forests until she got sleepy again. I carried her back to my room. Sokka walked in right as I set her down. Luckily, he was too busy attempted to look cool leaning against the doorjamb to notice what I was doing, so I could throw a blanket over the fluffy bundle on my bed. He asked a random question about him and his boomerang. Rolling my eyes, I answered with as much sarcasm as I possibly could. It didn't have any affect in him, because he is immune to anyone's sarcasm beside Toph's and his. Or he just didn't notice mine.

When he left, I decided to go shopping. I insisted that everyone else stay home, but I took the sleeping Kisa with me to be safe. She slept soundly in the bottom of the biggest basket that I could find. While I did actually go shopping a little, I found a ribbon and a small charm for Kisa, and some rope that I could use as a leash for her. The ribbon was green, and the charm was a small, golden tiger. It would look so cute on her, I couldn't wait to put it on her.

Then I got home, and started to unload the food. Zuko came in and helped me unload. He picked up the ribbon, rope, and charm, then looked at me in a way that said, 'What's all this for?'

"I need it for a project that I am doing," I said as I took them away from him. When he got to where Kisa was in the bottom of the basket, I snatched it away from him, saying that it was all gone. He gave me a quizzical look, but left the kitchen away. I sighed in relief, when I heard another voice and more footsteps in the kitchen.

"Geez, Sugar Queen, what's got your heart beating so fast? Was it Sparky or something?" Toph said as she accused me of liking Zuko again. Which I did, but I would never admit it to Toph.

"No, I was just thinking about the never-ending list of things that I have to do around here." Suddenly, the basket I was holding lurched, signaling that Kisa was awake. "Now, I am going to do some of those things. See ya later, Toph!" I said, running out of the kitchen. Then I sprinted back to my room. There, I let Kisa out of the basket so she could play. On the back of the charm was 'Kisa' carved into. I had the person at the stall do it for me. When I put the ribbon, with the charm on it, on her, she looked so precious. I put a hand to my heart as my eyes watered up. She stopped her playing to investigate the thing that had been put around her neck.

The next few days passed with me taking Kisa out when the coast was clear and feeding her meat and milk. We played when I would practice my waterbending. She seemed to like the water as much as I did. But, one time in my room, we weren't so careful. We'd been playing with a small ball of yarn that I found, when Kisa bumped her head on my dresser. She let out a little roar, the first she'd ever done. I started laughing so hard that I cried. Someone else besides me had heard.

Zuko burst into my room. I gasped, and attempted to hide Kisa, but she went straight to Zuko. She cutely pounced on his legs, and Zuko sat down so he could play with her. I shut the door so she wouldn't get out.

"So, Katara," Zuko said as he scratched Kisa's ears. "Would you care to tell me why you have a tiger cub in your room?"

Since he'd already caught me, I explained the entire story to him. I told him where I'd found her, my hesitation to take her, and explained that she was in the basket when he helped me unload it. He stayed quiet the entire time, just playing with Kisa.

After I was done, and a pause, he said, "You do realize that we are going to have to let her go, right? We can't keep her, she'd just be another mouth to feed and she could get in fights with Momo."

"Yeah, I know. I just wanted to wait until she was old enough to take care of herself before I did that," I said, sadly stroking Kisa as she purred.

"Well, I say the best time to do it is now. She can maintain herself," he said, gesturing to the pile of rats that Kisa had caught. She'd been living off them for the past two days.

"Can we do it tomorrow? I just want to have one more night with her before I let her go." He nodded as I pick up Kisa and hugged her. She squiggled out of my arms.

The next day, after lunch, Zuko and I took Kisa out to the woods where I found her. I untied the rope from her ribbon around her neck, and she ran to the woods. At the edge of the trees, she paused and turned her head to look at us. When she saw that we weren't coming, she ran into the woods. I cried into Zuko's shoulder and he wrapped his arms around me. He put my head underneath his chin and stroked my hair. Suddenly, I was glad that I had gotten caught.

* * *

><p>5 years later<p>

I walked around the same woods where I had found Kisa, when I saw a flash of brown. It was a full grown tiger. Scared, I looked at it. The thing that caught my attention was the ribbon around it's neck. It was ripped, and old, but it was green and had a tiger charm on it. As it ran away from me, all I could think of was Kisa. She had grown to be so beautiful and graceful.


End file.
